Actualizado
The Spanish government is preparing a record-setting Public Employment Offer (OEP) . Amid a corruption scandal involving alleged bribes in public works contracts attributed to former high-ranking officials of the PSOE, the Ministry of Public Administration has informed unions that this year’s job offerings are expected to exceed 40,000 positions , following a historic trend established in 2024.
In a context where the General State Budget (PGE) is under extension, the department led by Óscar López is working on figures similar to last year, which saw a total of 40,146 positions offered (31,465 for General State Administration; 2,857 for the National Police; 3,158 for the Civil Guard; and 2,666 for the Armed Forces).
Sources from the unions reported after a meeting with Public Administration representatives on Thursday that “the figures for the OEP will be very similar to those from last year.” However, the Ministry has refrained from specifying the exact number of positions during this initial meeting with CCOO, UGT, and CSIF . It also did not clarify when the pending salary increase of 0.5% will be paid or when negotiations for the new framework for salary increases for 2025 and subsequent years will begin.
Another meeting is scheduled for next Monday, with unions hopeful that the Ministry will present a specific figure related to civil service positions. Attendees from today’s meeting indicated that they expect negotiations to conclude promptly so that the Council of Ministers can announce a historic new OEP in July , in line with the previous year.
From UGT, the government is urged to remain “on the path established by the previous offers from 2022, 2023, and 2024 and propose an OEP that fosters net job creation in public administrations to address the loss of personnel over the last decade.” They emphasize that this net job creation should be aimed at rejuvenating the workforce , considering the urgent demands in sectors that are currently understaffed, particularly those providing public services.
Structural Deficit
The government has already acknowledged, as revealed by the CSIF union, that over the past decade, more than 20,000 jobs have been lost within the General State Administration. In initial documentation exchanged for the OEP, Public Administration admitted to a net loss of 20,646 jobs over the last ten years. This is occurring in a context where 21% of the workforce (a total of 50,900 individuals) is over 60 years old, thus nearing retirement age.
To address this “structural deficit” in public administrations, CSIF has been demanding that the government eliminate the replacement rate , which restricts the creation of new positions, as committed by former minister José Luis Escrivá . Despite this, the government has so far avoided this measure, continuing to enforce a policy that forces various administrations to hire interim staff, thereby perpetuating the issue of temporary work , which remains stalled at 30%, violating both the Stability Law and the mandates set by the European Commission to limit it to 8%.
As previously reported by EL MUNDO, the government is beginning to take steps towards introducing a reform to combat the excessive temporary work in the public sector. The European Commission currently has two infringement procedures open against Spain due to this issue, having found non-compliance with recent commitments made at the end of 2021. Spain faces substantial fines if this precarious workforce problem is not addressed. The Ministry of Public Administration is working on various measures aimed at lowering the high rate of temporary hiring across three key areas: Education, Health, and Justice .
No Salary Increase
Regarding salary matters, CSIF is demanding that the government “immediately pay the pending 0.5% salary increase from last year via decree and start negotiations for a new agreement to implement this year’s increase.” The union has voiced concerns that the negotiators from Public Administration still lack instructions for salary negotiations, which has raised alarm among their ranks.
CSIF estimates that at this point in the year, “the government is withholding at least more than 600 million euros from public employees across all administrations (approximately 200 euros per individual) due to the non-application of the aforementioned 0.5% increase along with the wage devaluation stemming from inflation.” This financial restraint adds to the dissatisfaction within public services, further complicating the employment landscape as they work towards a comprehensive solution to the staffing challenges.